T206 backs: what do they mean?

[ChiSoxFan]

I would recommend reading Scot's Inside T206. This should help answer your questions and even give additional information about the set.

Here is a link: http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/I...al-edition.pdf

ChiSoxFan

[freakhappy]

Thanks for the replies, it definitely helps! Thanks Sox for the book...I will be reading it soon. Is there anyway to get a hardcopy? Just didn't see any on Ebay through a quick search.

Mike

[FrankWakefield]

What do they mean? Not a d_ _ _ thing.

A guest preacher visited a small country Church. When time came for the sermon, the guest minister stood at the pulpit, smiled and introduced himself, then took off his wristwatch, placing it beside his papers. He then looked up and saw a little girl sitting on the front row, and he asked, "Little girl, do you know what that means when I place my watch there so I can see it?" She answered as I did, above.

The backs were advertisements for the brands of cigarettes. (Polar Bear was loose tobacco.) We assume that the card back brand would always match with the tobacco package, but I wonder if Sovereign cards ever ended up in a Piedmont package... With all of the other mistakes occurring with these cards back in the day, that conceivably could have happened, too.

[Steve D]

Mike,

Scot Reader's "Inside T206" is only available, I believe, via download. It is in my opinion, the leading source for information on the set. Also, board member Ted Z has made numerous very informative posts on this board regarding the breakdown of the set. His research has been invaluable to those of us collecting T206 cards.

Regarding the backs, here's my quick explanation:

First, you have each of the different brands - Piedmont, Sweet Caporal, Polar Bear, Tolstoi, etc...

Then among each brand, you have the different "series" - 150, 350, 350-460, and/or 460. Some brands, such as Polar Bear, did not identify each series. Remember, T206 was a three-year issue.....1909-1911; Series 150s were made in 1909, whereas Series 460 came along in late 1910-early 1911.

Then, among each series, you have different "factories" - 6, 17, 25, 30, 42 and 649. Again, not all brands used all the factories, i.e., Hindus came only from Factory 649, and all Polar Bears were made at Factory 6.

The "overprints" are simply cards where the original factory number was obscured, and a new factory number was printed, normally below the original one, on the back of the card.

Steve

[gnaz01]

Bill Heitman's book "The Monster" is an awesome book on the T206 set and available in print form.